Do you feel a mounting pressure to do more with less?
Are you tasked with responding to changing demographics, managing aging infrastructure, aligning with new teaching modalities, and meeting evolving community needs—all while staying within budget?
Making the best short- and long-term decisions for your educational institution is a tall order. Every step forward carries weight — and risk. How can you be sure that you’re meeting both current needs and future demands?
Short of a crystal ball, the best option is to arm yourself with the right information. Pertinent data can make any decision clearer and easier. Feasibility studies aren’t just boxes to check or bureaucratic formalities — they’re critical tools for decision-making. And right now, they matter more than ever.
The Hidden Costs of Skipping Your Feasibility Study
A superintendent of a school district decides to move directly into designing a new science building. She thought the district’s internal needs assessment was sufficient, and skipping a feasibility study would save time and money.
Six months and $180,000 into the project, it’s discovered that the planned location can’t support the specialized equipment needed for the labs. The project stalled, costs mounted, and community trust eroded.
This scenario plays out at educational institutions across the country when proper school feasibility analysis is bypassed.
Regulatory Compliance Risk
Forgoing a feasibility study isn’t just a bad idea. It may not even be an option for school districts in the Mid-Atlantic region.
- Pennsylvania’s PlanCon process requires public schools to conduct formal feasibility studies for construction projects seeking reimbursement from the state.
- Maryland schools must conduct feasibility studies for major renovation and construction projects per a Maryland Public School Construction Program mandate.
- Delaware’s Certificate of Necessity (CON) process requires assessments for capital improvement projects.
In addition to state mandates, your financial institution and/or bond issuer may require feasibility studies before funding educational projects.
Attempting to bypass these mandated studies not only increases project risk, but could jeopardize funding eligibility and regulatory approval, potentially stopping your project before it even begins.
What Exactly Is a Feasibility Study?
Think of your feasibility study as your institution’s roadmap. It’ll answer critical questions before you’re required to commit resources, ensuring you’re using them in a more efficient way. These include:
- How would new projects affect the utilization of space across your campus(es)?
- How could regulatory compliance issues impact timelines and budgets?
- How can the project enhance your students’ experiences and learning outcomes?
- How can sustainability elements be incorporated, and what impact will they have on operational and maintenance costs?
- How will the new project or initiative align with your educational master planning objectives or your vision and values?
Through answering these questions, a feasibility study can have a major impact on your project. What you may have thought was simply a package of information can reveal opportunities to integrate learning spaces that address several strategic enrollment management goals simultaneously.
The Five Critical Components of Modern Feasibility Studies
IToday’s educational institution feasibility studies go beyond simple building analysis (sometimes called a facility study). In order to arm you with the information needed to make wise decisions for your district, studies should provide:
1. Educational Program Analysis
Before any architectural drawing is created, the firm conducting your study should evaluate your academic program. They’ll confirm that the educational delivery and facility design are aligned through the assessment of:
- Instructional delivery modality requirements
- Space utilization analysis based on program needs
- Faculty recruitment and retention implications
- Student experience impact projections
2. Site and Infrastructure Evaluation
Every portion of your campus should be considered in the study, including your infrastructure. This assessment will analyze the proposed building site (if applicable), how it integrates with existing traffic flow, and how it may impact future expansion. They typically look at:
- Utility capacity and infrastructure requirements
- Traffic patterns and accessibility considerations
- Environmental impact and site constraints
- Future expansion potential
3. Financial Viability Modeling
You may be able to afford to build it, but can you afford to operate and maintain it? Any facility project needs to consider both short- and long-term costs. A financial sustainability model can show:
- Total cost of ownership projections
- Operational cost implications
- Potential revenue generation opportunities
- Phasing options to align with funding realities
4. Stakeholder Alignment Analysis
Your project will likely impact more than just students and teachers. A feasibility study can include an assessment of the project’s impact on all stakeholders, including:
- Educational catchment area analysis
- Community impact evaluation
- Strategic alignment with institutional mission
- Donor feasibility assessment when applicable
5. Regulatory and Compliance Navigation
It’s always better to understand regulations and how to comply with them before work begins. Your feasibility study can lay out this information, including:
- Building code requirements specific to educational occupancy
- Accessibility standards
- Environmental regulations
Educational accreditation requirements
Why They Matter Now More Than Ever
The way we teach and learn has shifted rapidly in recent years, but the facilities we use to do so haven’t.
The tension between ever-evolving instruction demands, the rigidity of our facilities, and the need to accomplish a lot with little funding make thorough campus development studies and educational facility planning more crucial than ever before.
1. Post-Pandemic Space Reconsideration
In the early 2020s, COVID-19 fundamentally changed how we think about public spaces — especially schools. Student density levels are being reimagined. Flexibility is no longer just preferred, it’s essential. Creating a space that fulfills these shifting needs requires insight and understanding, which a feasibility study can provide.
2. Technology Integration Has Accelerated
Smart classrooms, hybrid learning models, and tech-enabled collaboration spaces were once considered future innovations. They’re now the norm.
Modern educational technology implementation can be worked into feasibility assessments, taking account for infrastructure requirements, equipment lifecycles, and rapid technological evolution that may make today’s cutting-edge solutions obsolete within years.
3. Financial Scrutiny Has Intensified
Budgets are tightening and funding competition is heightened. These challenges are mounting pressure on educational institutions to prove the money they spend is making a sizeable impact.
Feasibility studies can provide you with the knowledge you need to optimize operational efficiency, maintenance costs, and alignment with your institution’s goals.
4. Sustainability Is Now Non-Negotiable
Sustainable and green elements are all but essential components of many educational facilities. Some states even require them.
A feasibility study can provide a sustainability assessment that analyzes energy efficiency, carbon footprint, and potential for certification standards like LEED. These factors impact both operational costs and your reputation.
5. Community Engagement Has Evolved
Embracing the surrounding community and sharing resources with them is a growing movement for educational institutions. A community-needs assessment will consider potential partnerships, shared resources, and alignment with regional economic development goals.
The ROI of Getting it Right: Measurable Benefits of Proper Feasibility Planning
A feasibility study is the foundation of your project. Without the right information, everything that follows is at risk. With one, you’ll be empowered to make the best decisions for your institution.
Maximized Resource Utilization
Resources are often tight. And even if they’re not, who doesn’t want to make the most out of what they have? A good feasibility study will help you identify the most efficient use of space, funding, and human resources so you can create facilities that deliver maximum value.
Future-Proofed Design Decisions
The world is changing faster than ever before, and it’s not showing signs of slowing down. You need to build for both the present and the future by aligning with emerging educational delivery methods.
Risk Mitigation
It’s always more costly to make changes during the project than before, and oftentimes, it will impact schedule. Feasibility studies can identify and address some of the potential issues before ground is broken, leading to a smoother project process.
Strategic Alignment
Facilities are a physical manifestation of your school’s vision and mission. The decisions you make during this process will impact how well your staff and students fulfill that vision. A feasibility study can help instill these values into the project, resulting in a facility where all who use it can live your mission every day.
In a time of uncertainty, a proper educational facility planning process brings clarity. In a time of constraint, it brings confidence. And in today’s rapidly changing educational landscape, that clarity and confidence aren’t just nice to have, they’re essential.
Ready to Explore What’s Feasible?
Gilbert Architects has helped hundreds of educational institutions of all sizes navigate complex planning and development decisions with confidence.
Our feasibility studies provide more than just reports — they deliver actionable insights that help you:
- Make confident, data-driven decisions
- Maximize the impact of your investment
- Build community support for your vision
- Create flexible, future-ready learning environments
- Ensure regulatory compliance at every stage
If you’re asking big questions about your next move, we’re here to help you find the right answers. Let’s turn your vision into a roadmap rooted in reality and ready for the future.
